After Ascent
by Gryvon
Summary: Raphael/Mikael. Life as an angel was very different and yet also mostly the same.


Mikael had wings. The wings themselves were not exceptionally new, but he still caught himself sometimes marveling at the fact that they were there, attached to his back like they'd been there all along. He'd passed the phase where they were an odd, sometimes uncomfortable weight on his back that made him trip over himself like the gangly teenager he'd once been, and technically he still was but the gangly part had at least fallen mostly away. He was on the tail end of the phase where the mere sight of his own wings was a distraction, but the novelty was slowly wearing off. He actually went some days with them concealed.

Today was not one of those days. Today he was flying, or at least trying to. He'd gotten the basics down, enough at least to get from point A to point B with some measure of safety but he still needed to work on the rest. The finer points of grace and elegance were eluding him, but he was getting better. He had a ways to go before he was as good as Raphael, who flew like he was dancing on air, so confident in his movements that it made Mikael ache with envy, among other emotions. But, Raphael had had years of practice, whereas Mikael only had a few weeks.

He'd been an angel for a grand total of sixty-two days and still kept count, marking off each day when he thought Raphael wasn't looking because after wanting it so long, part of him was constantly afraid that someone, somewhere was going to take everything away from him.

A sudden gust of wind hit him hard against the wing and he spun in the air, surprised enough that his wings stopped moving for a brief moment and then he was falling.

He didn't go far. A hand caught him by his elbow, stopping his descent. He looked up and was only slightly surprised to find Raphael grinning over at him.

"I thought you weren't coming out today."

Raphael smiled at him. "Fortunately for you, I did."

Mikael blushed and pushed away, spreading his wings out until he could catch the wind once more. Raphael's hand lingered on his arm, making Mikael's blush deepen.

"Are you done practicing?" The heat in Raphael's eyes matched his voice.

He nodded and banked into a turn. Raphael followed him, turning lazily in the air, purposely keeping himself behind Mikael. For a brief moment, he worried that Raphael didn't trust him, that he was only holding back so he could keep an eye on Mikael in case he started to fall again. Raphael was keeping an eye on him, but it wasn't on his flying technique. Mikael's face turned bright red and he flapped his wings to push himself forward a bit faster, increasing the distance between himself and Raphael.

The last thing he needed was for Raphael to get handsy in public, again. Mikael already had a bit of a reputation with the other students, and he really hadn't helped his case when he'd pointed out that he'd been in a relationship with _Professor_ Raphael _before_ he'd been a student. He had a feeling that when they called him "Teacher's Pet" they meant it in a completely different connotation that the way he'd been called that back on Earth, and he was starting to wonder if he was the only angel in Heaven who wasn't a complete pervert. At least back on Earth the teachers didn't give him pointers or compliments on his technique, depending on what story Raphael was spreading around the teacher's lounge that particular day.

White spires rose ahead of them. Mikael flew towards one of the centermost, weaving under bridges and around buildings until he landed with both feet on the balcony outside of their apartment. He titled unsteadily, almost falling backwards into the railing, but a hand on his lower back steadied him. The hand immediately drifted lower and Mikael bolted for the door.

"I didn't realize you were in such a rush," Raphael teased. He shut the door behind him.

Now that they were safely inside, away from possible voyeurs, Mikael felt comfortable enough to turn to face Raphael. He should have known better. The leer on Raphael's face sent a shiver down his spine and made his wings tremble. "The only rush was to get indoors before you started molesting me again."

Raphael's smile widened. "Well, if you're offering..." He took a step closer. Mikael backed up, suddenly feeling shy and nervous and insecure. They matched each other, movement for movement, until Mikael's wingtips brushed against a wall. Raphael stepped into his personal space, his hands settling low on Mikael's hips and keeping Mikael still. Escape had never really been an option.

Mikael dropped his head down onto Raphael's shoulders. "Are... are you sure this is okay?"

Warm hands rubbed soothingly along his sides. "Maa, Mikael..." Raphael's breath stirred the hair around his ear seconds before lips pressed against his neck.

His hands tangled in Raphael's vest. "On Earth, there are laws about teachers and students, especially about teachers and _younger_ students, and I know..." He was babbling again, like he did every time he felt insecure about his relationship with Raphael.

The lips on his neck shifted, working their way along his jaw towards his lips, and finally, cutting him off. "This isn't Earth," Raphael said between kisses, his tongue swallowing any reply Mikael could have made, "and it's not wrong." The way Raphael's tongue rubbed against the top of his mouth made his toes curl. "Not here."

"But if I do something wrong..."

Raphael didn't let him finish. "You won't." Raphael was shifting them, slowly guiding Mikael towards one of the low, backless couches.

"But if I fall..." Raphael had mentioned that once, when Mikael had been worried about turning into a human again if he failing his training. There wasn't a way to go back, not after he'd become an angel, but he could still become a fallen angel and be kicked out of Heaven. Mikael wasn't the type, usually, to do the kinds of things that caused an angel to fall – he didn't kill, wasn't violent, could barely even bring himself to lie half of the time – but then he remembered how obsessive and driven he'd been, the way he'd treated Noelle and her family when he'd tried to become an angel. Given extenuating circumstances, he could be capable of the kinds of crimes that would make him fall.

"Then I'll fall with you, and we'll go back to Japan and bother Noelle and her family again."

Mikael forgot to breathe. He stared at Raphael, too shocked to be anything other than pliant as Raphael peeled off Mikael's clothes and turned him until his chest was pressed against the couch cushion. He should say something, but his brain seemed to have melted and he couldn't decide whether he should be outraged that Raphael even thought him capable of falling or relieved that Raphael had a plan for it or happy that Raphael wouldn't think of abandoning him. Then he felt Raphael pressing against him, hard and slick and familiar enough that his body opened up automatically, muscles relaxing as Raphael slowly pushed his way in and in and in until his hips were flush against Mikael's own.

He stopped thinking altogether and started to pull his wings back in, so they wouldn't be in the way when Raphael pressed against him.

A hand on his back stopped him. "Don't."

Curious, Mikael resettled his wings. He kept them curled close to his body, the tips brushing the ground. Usually, when they had sex, Mikael put his wings away. It made things easier, particularly when he was on his back.

He jumped when Raphael placed a kiss on his back, right between where his wings joined with his shoulders. Mikael whimpered and clutched at the edges of the couch near his head. Raphael's tongue ran along the base of his left wing. He gasped and trembled and very nearly came from Raphael's tongue alone. He'd nearly forgotten that Raphael was still inside of him until he started to move, his hips gradually finding a slow rhythm that matched the way Raphael's hands ran over his wings. He could feel the trace of Raphael's fingers distantly, like a hand brushing through his hair.

Raphael's lips mapped a path up his spine, moving past his wings to curve up his neck and over his shoulder. Mikael quivered beneath him, too far gone to care about the embarrassing, mewling little pleas that fell from his lips and would no doubt be the subject of gossip in the teacher's lounge tomorrow. It was worth the knowing smirks and the embarrassing remarks if it meant that he could feel Raphael like this. They were connected, hip to hip, Raphael's chest pressing down against his wings, but it was more than just that. He was in love and had literally an eternity to spend with Raphael, while Raphael teased him and annoyed him and drove him completely to distraction and loved him far more than he'd ever deserved.

He had a second's warning to gasp as Raphael's teeth pressed down against the soft flesh of his shoulder, and then he was screaming and coming as Raphael bit him hard enough that it would leave a mark that would likely linger for a few days. Mikael tensed his fingers against the cushions and waited, moaning through the last frantic thrusts of Raphael's hips into him, whimpering as Raphael pulled out and sucked at his neck and shoulders, leaving a trail of kiss marks across his skin. As soon as he could breathe again with some semblance of regularity, he turned, pulling in his wings and shifting until his back was against the couch and Raphael was on top of him. Raphael's lips didn't stop. Mikael was going to have a rather impressive collection of hickeys on his neck tomorrow.

"I'm going to have to skip the swimming trip tomorrow."

Raphael's chuckle rumbled against his chest. "No you don't."

"Yes, I do. The hickies visible over my shirt are going to be bad enough."

There was a sparkle of mischief in Raphael's eyes when he pulled back. His hands slid along Mikael's thighs, exploring the bare flesh for a few moments before lifting them to hook over Raphael's shoulders. "I can think of a few other places that would be worse."

"Raphael, don't..." His words were cut off as Raphael slid down to bite Mikael's hip. He nearly fell off of the couch.

"Fuck," Mikael swore, his face turning red even as the word left his mouth.

Raphael stared at him for a second before a sly smile slid across his face and he looked at Mikael with newfound appreciation. "My, my, Mikael, what a naughty mouth..."

Mikael's face flamed in response. Raphael lowered his mouth towards Mikael's upper inner thigh. His lips brushed against the flesh as he spoke.

"Now, let's see if we can get you to do that again."

Mikael had a feeling that the teacher's lounge was going to be talking about tonight for weeks to come.


End file.
